What Does it Take to Be an Entrepreneur?

Do you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? In today’s article, CEO and Entrepreneur Scott Binsack explores what it takes to become an entrepreneur.

Many dream of starting a business venture, but a large number of those people simply don’t have what it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur. It’s a fact that’s evidenced by the numbers – four in ten companies will fail by the one-year mark and over seven in ten companies no longer exist by the five year mark.

An entrepreneur needs a vision; a commitment to push through the difficult times while maintaining a focus on their objective.

What Does it Take to Become an Entrepreneur: Money

Starting a business isn’t easy, especially during the first year. You must be in a financial position where you can make it for at least one year with minimal – if any – profits.

Even if you’re establishing a website – a venture with little overhead – you must know that the first year will be tough and chances are, you won’t turn a profit. This is par for the course. Many new entrepreneurs are deluded into believing that they’re different, special or the exception to the rule. They think, “Well, I’ve got a great business concept” or “I’ve got experience and a high quality product or service offering” and they convince themselves that they will be amongst the minority of entrepreneurs who profit within the first year.

Always be prepared for the worst, but hope for the best. Don’t convince yourself that you’re the exception to the rule, as this only sets you up for great disappointment and discouragement when you find that you weren’t the exception after all.

What Does it Take to Become an Entrepreneur: Commitment & Fortitude

This brings us to our next point: do you have the commitment and the mental and emotional fortitude required to make it through the challenges that you’ll encounter as an entrepreneur? Absolutely everything will fall on your shoulders. As an entrepreneur, it’s a lot of responsibility and everything tends to roll downhill…and onto your plate. Are you ready for that responsibility and burden?

An entrepreneur needs to have the commitment required to succeed even when things get difficult. Late nights, 80 hour work weeks, 7-day work weeks, no vacations for at least a year (or maybe 5 or 10) . Starting a business is difficult and it requires sacrifice and commitment.

What Does it Take to Become an Entrepreneur: Vision

Being an entrepreneur also requires a vision and the knowledge and commitment required to fulfill that vision.

Many entrepreneurs go into a new startup venture without a real vision or they simply don’t know how to achieve that vision. Do the research, form your vision and determine how much it will cost to make it happen.

If you don’t have the desire or knowledge required to ensure that every aspect of your venture is properly handled, you risk failure. For instance, you’ll need a logo and defined brand, along with a website and marketing materials in order to promote your company and build a professional image. Unless you specialize in these areas, you’ll need to hire someone to tend to these aspects of your business. The same goes for management and financials. You need to have someone who’s qualified and experienced who can handle these tasks properly. Failure in one of these areas can lead to the failure of your entire venture.

In short, if you’re going to do it, you’ve got to do it right! And when the time comes that you can no longer handle everything yourself, you’ll need to start delegating in order to ensure that everything gets done (and it’s all done with the quality you’re known for providing!)

These are just a few of the qualities you need to succeed as an entrepreneur.